Rochester

Rochester had local figures who spoke out against Prohibition. It also had to deal with a great deal of corruption as a result of Prohibition.

Two years into Prohibition, a Rochester rabbi, Jacob S. Minkin, was paraphrased as calling prohibition “historically false, as ever since human experience could relate people has always drank something stronger than water.” He was quoted as saying: “Drunkenness and some of its byproducts have not only not disappeared, but they have even greatly increased in extent and volume.

In 1924, patrolman Frederick Fricke of Rochester was caught with 65 cases of ale on his motorboat, prompting the Coast Guard to look harder for rum runners on the lake.

Sources:

SEARCH FOR 'RUM ROW' ON LAKE ONTARIO, New York Times (1857-Current file); Aug 24, 1924; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 – 2004), pg. E1

Special to the New York Times."CALLS DRY LAW PARTISAN. Rochester Rabbi Says 'Denominational Christians' Back Prohibition. " The New York Times [New York, NY] 6 Feb. 1922. The New York Times Online. 6 Jun. 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/>